More worms! More dirt! More more!

I read a recent article (don't remember where) about the detrimental effects of eliminating peanuts from the public space--that it may instead result in more or more severe peanut allergies. It reminded me of a study I'd heard of years ago, that children who grow up on farms have less asthma and such than kids who grow up in cities; that a little dirt goes a long way.

Apparently there are more and more studies supporting this latter fact. They're especially finding that not enough exposure to worms might be causing "inflammatory diseases — multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and asthma," and they're using worms to lessen people's symptoms. (From NYT article.)